A WOMAN who exposed her genitals to millions of viewers on TV has vowed to make Brighton the vulva capital of the world.

Fabia Brackenbury from Hove performed a vulval self-examination on the Channel 4 medical reality show Embarrassing Bodies.

She went on the programme because since 1994 she has lived with the condition lichen sclerosus.

It’s a chronic inflammatory skin disease that mainly affects the genital skin and can appear in men, women and children at any age.

Having the condition ended Fabia’s 30-year marriage and now she has launched a support group in Brighton with Macmillan Cancer Support.

This is for women with LS and other vulval conditions, including the skin disease vulval intraepithelial neoplasia which can turn into cancer, and vulval cancer.

Fabia, 71, said: “I want to make Brighton the vulva capital of world.

“People with this condition do not talk about it and I want to make Brighton a place where women who have these conditions realise that there are other women with them.

“I want to make sure they have the support they need.

“LS is a progressive condition with no cure and can lead to loss of genital features, and vulval cancer involves really extreme surgery.

“The psychological effects are severe and many people with these very private conditions find it difficult to talk to friends and family, causing isolation and loneliness.

“The new group will offer a confidential and friendly place where women can feel welcome, accepted, enabled and empowered.”

Fabia, a retired legal secretary and mother of one, has talked openly about her marriage breakdown caused by having LS, which can cause swelling, soreness, itching and split skin.

She said: “I was in a difficult marriage and sex was the only thing that kept us together.

“When I got LS, I did not feel that my husband was not understanding - he thought I was making excuses and our marriage ended.

“We have since been reconciled and now he’s my biggest supporter.”

Fabia is the founder of the Association for Lichen Sclerosus and Vulval Health.

In 1997 she launched the world’s first website about LS, VIN and vulval cancer after seeking help from the Australian intellectual Germaine Greer.

She advised Fabia to set up a website and Fabia was able to thank her in person last year when Ms Greer appeared at the Brighton Dome.

Today, Fabia is an honorary member of the British Society for the Study of Vulval Disease.

She was also one of 400 women recruited by Brighton-based artist Jamie McCartney, who cast their vulvae in plaster to create the Great Wall of Vagina Scuplture, a series of 10 panels capturing the physical diversity of labia.

To find out about the support group, email vhac@lichensclerosus.org or phone Macmillan’s Horizon Centre at 2 Bristol Gate, Brighton, on 01273 468770.

lichensclerosus.org/crochet